As reported by LA Times’ Sam Bradford, HKS Architects have been working hard and fast (this sounds like every project this architect has ever worked on) to wrap up the schematic design on an 80,000-seat, ETFE enclosed roof, open air, privately-financed mega project adjacent to the historic LA Forum.

HKS put an exclamation mark on this stage with a bevy of renderings for Mr. Kroenke to show-off at the upcoming NFL Owners meetings. Whether the project will ever be built, whether Kroenke’s Rams will stay put in St. Louis, whether LA will continue to be a pawn in stadium negotiations across the country remains to be seen. However, built or not, the architectural innovation discovered in these hypothetical projects, the time spent on schemes can and often does inform future projects. So the expansive transparent ETFE roof you see in these renderings will be a reality someday, whether or not they are for this LA Stadium scheme remains to be seen. For now, we enjoy pretty pictures.

2Comments

Thank you so much for your comment, you bring up some excellent points. I agree, the idea of a covered, open air stadium is an oxymoron, but in the renderings the roof stays open on the sides and I love the typology. The Sapporo Dome in Japan, a Stadiafile favorite, is a good example. Protected from any harsh conditions – summer sun in this case – and open to breezes thus limiting any need for air conditioning are all good, smart design. Yes, LA has fine weather but that doesn’t mean the seating area or playing field (or court) shouldn’t be protected from the sun.

I am however dubious of a privately financed $1.8 billion stadium – where does this leave the individual fan? If the public has no money invested in the project, private owners like Kroenke will potentially make the venues even more catered to corporate interests than they currently are, if that is possible.

Can a stadium really have an “ETFE enclosed roof” and be “open air” at the same time? No, it cannot.

This is, simply put, a fully-enclosed indoor stadium. It is not an “open air” stadium any more than my living room is an “open air” living room because I happen to have left a few windows open.

And, frankly, it’s beyond ludicrous that anyone is considering building an enclosed stadium in this part of the world. LA is world-renowned for its weather. On the other hand, this stadium looks like it was designed for St. Louis.